Strangers Like Us
by nanoda
Summary: [OnGoing] It started out as an innocent internet chat. Now, as they grew closer, only they can answer the questions in their hearts. A fic about two of the minor, yet lovable characters from SD. You have to read on to find out who they are...
1. one

Taking a break from continuing my other 2 fics. Basically, I have no idea what to write.

One day, after reading the first 6 volumes of Slam Dunk and reading some Slam Dunk fics, I realized that some characters in the anime are rarely written about in fics.

So, I decided to write this fic about two characters in Slam Dunk that does not receive a lot of attention, yet you see them A LOT of times.

Who are they?

I'm not telling...

**Slam Dunk is NOT mine. It belongs to Dr T, the true genius.

* * *

**

**Strangers Like Us**

The crows cried out in the clear evening sky. He hummed an achingly familiar tune as he stepped off the shower, rubbed his damp hair absent-mindedly with a towel, drying it. He casually draped the towel over his left shoulder and pulled on his favourite pair of jeans. Zipping it up, he opened the bathroom door and stepped out.

His sister immediately rushed past him, into the bathroom, and slammed the door shut before he even had time to blink.

"Hot date?" He commented cheekily to his sister, but only received a snort in reply. He shrugged and headed for his room, two doors down the hall.

He switched on his bedroom lights and tossed the towel onto his unmade bed. Idly, he walked towards his desk, and immediately stopped. His head swiveled to the right, and he winked at the reflection of himself. "Hey there, handsome."

He gave a short, humourless laugh and approached his chair, which was overflowing with clothes in need of washing. Its polished black leather seat was now 'cracked' and turning into a frightening shade of brown. He didn't dare imagine how his chair had changed colour, though he had wondered over it.

He sat down, (after dumping the clothes onto his bed) and the computer on his desk immediately caught his attention. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation and looked at his wall clock. 6:00 PM. Not trusting the time, (it could have stopped, for all he knew) he checked his wristwatch, which was buried under his Physics textbook. 6:02 PM. Ha. The wall clock was 2 minutes slow.

He wondered if she was already there. No. They had promised that they would meet at 6:30 PM. And he is someone who always keeps his promise. But it won't hurt to just check... would it? No. No. No. He shook his head and drummed his fingers on his wooden desk. The computer loomed in front of him, tempting him, taunting him. He shut his eyes tight.

_Look at me. Watch me play. Touch me. I know you want to. Come on. It won't hurt. I promise. _

He peeked, and felt the tingle in his bones. His hands shivered in excitement as he reached for the keyboard. Oh, all right. It doesn't hurt to just see, does it? He switched it on and went to the chat-room. He signed in the username ILoveBaskets and searched for her. No. She's not there. He sighed. Of relief or regret, he couldn't establish. He chatted to the other bored souls in this place where you can be just anything you wanted to be. Anything at all. Yet, none of them pricked his interest like she did. None of them made his heart flutter. None made him count the minutes, seconds, when they can chat again. Nobody, except for her.

He glanced at the time. 6:28 PM. He logged out.

At exactly 6:30 PM, he became CheekyBoy.

* * *

**CheekyBoy**: Good evening, my love. Now, how was your day? Did you miss me?

She beamed. He had kept his promise. He had logged on at exactly 6:30 PM. She smiled and replied.

**FujiFilM**: Nice to see you. I did miss you actually. Very much.

She typed her reply and then leaned back to wait for his. Her fingers shook as they left the keyboard. Excitement? ... Or guilt? She sighed. Definitely guilt. She couldn't believe that she had logged in at 6:15 PM, under a different username, of course, to check if he was online. She had made him promise her that he should only log in at 6:30 PM to test him. To test if he was a man who took promises seriously, and keeps them.

**FujiFilM**: You passed the test. Congratulations.

**CheekyBoy**: Test? What test? If you were talking about the Maths test, I failed it.

**FujiFilM**: Not that. You kept your promise. You only logged in at 6:30pm, like we promised.

Silence.

She waited for a few minutes.

**FujiFilM**: Hello? Are you still there?

**CheekyBoy**: I'm here. Sorry.

His name immediately disappeared from her contacts list, showing that he had gone offline. She sighed loudly. Was he angry? She really was pushing her luck. Testing him and all that. Her heart heavy with regret, she logged out and switched off her laptop.

She looked out her bedroom window. Faint moonlight lined the darkening sky. _Who is he?_ She wondered. Every night, she'd stare at the inked night sky, wondering who this charming guy is. Every night, without fail. She knew so much about him, yet so little.

She knew of his love for basketball. She could understand that. She had friends who were so dedicated to that sport, they gave up their social life for a chance to play.

She knew his joy and love for animals. How he would animatedly describe to her his day every night, all the animals he'd seen, all the people he'd greeted.

She also knew how well he could remember people. He could always remember their look, their personality, and their remarks to him. She understood his sadness when his basketball captain had left their team. She worried with him when his sister always arrives home late at night, tired and exhausted.

Yet, she doesn't know him. Where is he schooling? How does he look like? When is his birthday? Who are his friends? His first memory? His first love? His favourite food? She wanted to know all of them. She wanted to know everything.

But she was too scared. This infuriating sensation called fear, which would always buzz around and still circle you like a pesky fly, even though you thought you had swatted it away many times. This fear held her back. Fear from what? She didn't really understand. Because of this fear, she had not mustered enough courage to ask for his name.

* * *

-Worried look-

Is it ok? Is it ok??

Gomen gomen gomen for any bad grammar. This is punishment for always falling asleep in English classes... --"


	2. two

Sorry for any glaring mistakes, ya?

And **Slam Dunk is not owned by me**...

* * *

**Strangers Like Us #2**

**CheekyBoy**: So, how was your day today?

**FujiFilM**: It was fine. Thank you for asking. How about yours? Any interesting things you note down?

**CheekyBoy**: I saw this group of boys playing basketball at the public court. They were around 14, 15 years old. They were pretty good. One of them did an excellent three-pointer. Have you tried shooting one?

**FujiFilM**: No. But there's this player in my school basketball team that does perfect three-point shots. It was breath taking just watching him play. I'm sure your three-point shots would be as breath taking too.

**CheekyBoy**: My shots don't usually go in. I'm working on it. Haha. What school are you studying in? Maybe I know this three-pointer god of yours.

**FujiFilM**: Shohoku High of Kanagawa district.

Shohoku... Shohoku?! He eagerly typed his response.

**CheekyBoy**: Mitsui. Hisashi Mitsui of Shohoku. Jersey number 14 and currently in his third year. He's 184cm and weighs 70kg. Position: Shooting guard. Am I right? He was pretty impressive during the qualifying league rounds.

**FujiFilM**: I'm impressed. You do know your opponents well. Unless... You are from Shohoku too?

**CheekyBoy**: Sorry to disappoint you.

"Dinnertime!"

He stared blankly at the screen. Snapping out of his reverie, he quickly typed, "_Got to go_" and sauntered to the dining table. Ah. Nothing like food to make you happy after a long, strenuous day.

He checked the wall clock. 8:38PM. Hmm. Rather late for dinner, but who cares? As long as there is food on the table, he would gladly sit down and eat them up. Shouldn't waste those foods. No, no.

He took a mouthful of rice and chewed thoughtfully. So, his FujiFilM is from Shohoku. Imagine that. He tried to think of some Shohoku girls who would usually come and support their basketball team. Too many, too many. Especially those Rukawa's cheerleaders. Could she be one of them? Nah. She doesn't seem to be like one of those brainless bimbos to him.

A fish ball hit his forehead, bounces twice on the table, and then rolled onto the floor. "Oi. Nee-san. Stop that."

"My brother is dreaming again. What is it this time? Studying abroad in America? To be the top basketball player in Japan? How to give your sister some money??" His sister looked at him, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. "Or could it be... love?"

He ducked his head. "Nee-san..." He heard his sister's triumphant laugh, but chose to ignore it.

"I knew it! I knew it! Who could it be? One of your supporters? A girl in school? A girl you met while you were jaywalking? Wait... could it be a guy? Is that why you didn't want to confide in me? Your sister is a love expert, you know. I don't care whether it's a boy or a girl, as long as you love that person. Come on, tell me. Tell me..."

The chair scraped as he pushed it back and stood up. "I'm full," he announced. He turned and stalked straight towards him room.

"Oi! I'm talking to you. Put your bowl onto the sink, you lazy pig. Why do you..." 

He shut his bedroom door tightly, blocking his sister's incessant ramblings.

Safely lying on his bed (his sister cursing him in the kitchen could still be heard, but thankfully, it was faint), he stared at the ceiling. His hands were over his head, his right one stretched out while the other rested on his head. He sighed. _Love? Could it be?

* * *

_

She interlocked her fingers and stretched out her arm. Ha... Life sure is wonderful. She had arrived school late for the first time (and got a earful from the discipline master), realized that they had a Maths spring test (yuck) and then, it rained while she was on her way home from school, leaving her soaked and shivering when she reached home.

However, after chatting with CheekyBoy for the past hour and telling her about her horrible day, she felt much better. His day was worse than hers.

**CheekyBoy**: Then the basketball hit my head! You should have seen the look on my coach's face!

**FujiFilM**: Wow. I feel much better now. Thank you. You are my hero.

**CheekyBoy**: I have to ask this. I couldn't sleep last night as the question was bugging me the whole night. If I loved you, would you love me back?

Her hands froze on the keyboard and her heart skipped a beat. Had he...? Did he...? When...?

**CheekyBoy**: I'm sorry if that scared you. I've been thinking about it a lot and...

She stared as his words appeared on the screen, yet her fingers refused to move. What should she say? What should she say? What should she say? Oh, help! What should she DO? Her fingers shook as she typed.

**FujiFilM**: And...?

**CheekyBoy**: And I think it's time for us to meet.


	3. three

Haha. Just wana get this over and done with before I start hitting the books and not go online for a long, long, long time...

Firstly, thank you for all the reviews! Appreciate it! And are they really Sendoh and Fujii? Or could he be Rukawa? Or is she Haruko? Hmm. Maybe, just maybe, he could be Koshino...

Well, I'm still not telling.

**Slam Dunk is not mine**.

* * *

**Strangers Like Us #3**

She took a deep breath to calm her rapidly beating heart. Closing her eyes, she welcomed the warm water to wash away her tiredness. Yet, she shivered. Slowly, she blew out her breath, then dunked her head under the furious jets of warm water from the showerhead. She sighed blissfully.

After soaking herself for fifteen minutes, she finally turned the shower off and opened the sliding shower screen. She grabbed a towel from the nearby rack and covered herself. The bathroom mirror caught her eye.

Does he really love me? Someone whom he had never met before? He had never seen her before, had never even heard her own voice. It seemed rather foolish and unrealistic, yet, maybe, just maybe, this is fate.

_But would he change his mind after he sees me?_ She briefly scanned the image of herself in the mirror. Chin-length brown hair, almond-shaped eyes, small, thin lips. She looked... ordinary. Her breasts... well, they are there, but they are not big enough for her liking. And her not-so-flat stomach... She sighed. Basically, she is just a typical teenage girl with raging hormones and waiting for the day her womanly curves will arrive. _If_ it arrives.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall. Please lie and show me what I want to be like," she said softly, her right hand gently caressing the cool surface of the mirror. She looked intently at the mirror for a second, and then wiped away the layer of mist covering the mirror (due to her warm shower).

She looked away from the (stupid) mirror and walked into her bedroom. She opened her wardrobe and took out a pink T-shirt and blue shorts and put it on. Sitting in front of her dressing table, she took her soft-bristled brush. She brushed it lightly through her copper-toned hair absent-mindedly.

Her mind wandered back to their recent conversation...

**CheekyBoy**: I'm sorry if my 'love confession' scared you. I just had to... you know...

**FujiFilM**: No, I don't.

**CheekyBoy**: I just had to know where I stand and what sort of relationship we are in.

**FujiFilM**: Well, ever since that day, I definitely do not consider you as just a friend.

**CheekyBoy**: I'm sorry. It felt wrong to just lock away these feelings. You never know where it might lead unless you try, right?

**FujiFilM**: I guess you are right.

**CheekyBoy**: Of course I'm right.

**FujiFilM**: Cheeky. You know, frankly, I'm really starting to like you a lot too.

**CheekyBoy**: Really? Wow! That's great!

**FujiFilM**: I really want to meet you. I imagine you as someone who is tall, tanned and has well-developed muscles.

**CheekyBoy**: Yea? I imagine you as a girl with shoulder length hair, average height and will always have a smile on that cute face of yours.

**FujiFilM**: I might not be the girl you just described.

**CheekyBoy**: I might not be the guy either.

**FujiFilM**: Can you at least tell me your name? Or your school?

**CheekyBoy**: Well, I'm from Ryonan High.

**CheekyBoy**: My name is A...

She tried to recall. She tried very hard. After that last sentence, her phone had rung. Her best friend needed some help and she had immediately shut down the computer without any last look at his reply. She regretted it now. She could only remember that his name starts with 'A'. A guy's name that starts with A from Ryonan High who is in their basketball club. Could it be... Their ace? Akira Sendoh? Had she been chatting with Akira Sendoh all this while? And, he's in love with her? With HER?

She shook her head. Impossible. She wanted to ask him again what his name was, but she was afraid that he might get hurt that she had not been paying attention. But... who else could it be?

She remembered watching him play during the practice match against Shohoku. How calmly he played against her school team. How his shots will always leave the spectators stunned for a few seconds, as though it was too marvelous, too perfect, that no words could describe it. She remembered her heart would always beat wildly against her ribs when he was in mid-air, about to dunk. Beautiful. Simply beautiful.

All this while, she had thought that it was just awe that made her heart jump whenever she thought of his plays. But now... she realized something. Had fate played a part in this too?

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	4. four

Thank you for all the reviews!!

The story is about to end soon (hopefully).

**And Slam Dunk does not belong to me**. It belongs to the genius mangaka – Inoue Takehiko!

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**Strangers Like Us #4**

They had promised to meet at Danny's Diner at three on Saturday afternoon. The watch on her wrist showed that it was half-past two. She was early.

She sighed. Twirling the straw of her soda, she stared listlessly through the window. People of all kinds walked by, minding their own business, lost in their own world. Had any one of them ever been in love? She wondered. How does it feel to be in love? Does your heart beat faster just at the mere thought of him? Does your heart flutter every time the phone rings, a tiny part of your mind telling you that "It's him!", even thought it's impossible? Or does love make you feel at peace? She sighed and leaned against the cushioned seat.

Where is he? She checked her watch again. 2:45pm. Damn. She cursed herself for arriving too early. But the excitement of finally meeting him was too great, till she could not sit still at home and went out of her house at half-past one. She should have brought her friends along for support.

The bell chimed, signaling that someone had opened the diner door. She looked up. He was wearing a Ryonan Basketball Club jacket. Could it be...

No. He was shorter than HIM, and his floppy hair covered his eyes. Koshino, she recalled. The player who was always irritated with Sakuragi. A hint of a smile played at the corner of her lips as she recalled a hilarious incident involving those two.

The bell chimed again, snapping her back to reality. A confident young man walked it, his hands in his pocket, his mouth smirking. His eyes shone with amusement, as though he had just told a private joke to himself.

It's him. Akira Sendoh. Ryonan's ace. CheekyBoy. Definitely. Why else would he be at Danny's Diner at (she checked her watch) 2:52pm on a Saturday afternoon? She opened her mouth to call out to him, but her throat was dry. She must have looked stupid enough, sitting there with her mouth opening and closing, like a goldfish, for the Ryonan ace to notice her.

His eyes flickered with recognition as he saw her. He frowned, as though trying hard to recall her name, then shrugged and gave a friendly wave at her. He walked past her booth and sat three tables down.

Huh? What the...? She turned to look at him. Sendoh was blatantly flirting with the cute waitress as she took down his order. After the waitress walked away, she noticed that Sendoh was sitting with Koshino.

What...? Why...? How...? Her mind clouded with confusion. Maybe he had not realized that SHE was FujiFilM, the girl he had been chatting with all this while. Lost in her thought, she did not hear the bell tinkled again until a waitress exclaimed, "Wow! He's huge!"

She looked up. And looked up some more. Whoa... The Ryonan captain... Uozomi. She had seen him play against their matches against Shohoku. He was an excellent and talented (though a tad rough) player.

Uozomi walked past her. His big body appeared almost ominous, and it made the diner seemed smaller and cramped. His ape-like face took a short glance at her, then at the door.

That was when she noticed the boy happily trailing behind the Ryonan's captain. What was his name? Hikoichi. That's right. The irritating boy who always takes down notes and believes that Sakuragi will be the next captain. She snickered at the thought.

Hikoichi noticed her and waved. She gave back a small wave, then diverted her attention back to Sendoh. Should she approach him? Could she?

She took a deep breath_. "You never know where it (the relationship) might lead to unless you try, right?"_ His words echoed in her head. Right. Here goes nothing.

She had to push herself out of the seat. Slowly, she turned around and scanned the restaurant. Then, she caught sight of her friend. There, sitting alone in a corner of the diner, was Haruko.

* * *

I'm sorry if this was a short chapter. But I wrote two chapters in one go, so I should be forgiven, yes? 


	5. five

**Slam Dunk is Not MINE... Awwww...

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**

**Strangers Like Us #5**

He saw her stood up. Does she even know that he's here? He had told her his name. She should be approaching him now. But... He checked the wall clock on the diner. 3:06PM. Six minutes and not a single greeting from her. Six torturous minutes of waiting for her to acknowledge him. 6 bloody minutes that seemed to last for hours. He couldn't stand it anymore!!

But then he saw her stood up. She was saying something to her friend. (About him, probably?) Okay. Now, she's heading towards him, but she had not noticed him. Come on... Look at me, look at me, LOOK AT ME! His mind screamed.

He could feel her presence now. Okay, relax dude. Keep calm. He pretended to be deep in thought by staring into space and ignoring her. However, his senses were fully aware of every single one of her movements. Her footsteps, her scent, hell, even her soft breathing could be heard by his sharp ears.

He listened to her footsteps. One, two... Her footsteps faltered. His veins turned ice-cold. Had she noticed him?

"Hello there," she greeted casually. Hanother backward glance, stepped out and slammed the door shut.

* * *

She rubbed her aching hip. Ouch. That boy sure was rough. It was partly her fault too, as she was too engrossed in her thoughts.

After much encouragement from Haruko, she had finally gathered enough courage to do this. Taking a deep breath, she approached the Ryonan ace.

* * *

Woa... This chapter is really short. --

So, any idea who they are? It's rather obvious, isn't it?

Please don't hate me if they are not your favourite couple

_-covers head with a slam dunk manga to prevent getting any bonks_.-


End file.
